The result of the study is from NGO Adisi Cameroon. Its report, published last Wednesday in Yaoundé, focuses on the Dynamics of Internet access in Cameroon: trends, challenges and prospects.
During the presentation of the report generated on September 29, 2021 in Yaoundé, the Journalist Paul Joël Kamtchang the Secretary General (SG) of the NGO Adisi, revealed that the majority of Cameroonian Internet users are made up of young people from 18 years old, and that they are very active on social networks, including Facebook, tik tok and Twitter. And to specify that “men are more present on social networks than women.” More interesting is this revelation: “the majority of Internet users, especially young people, go first to pornography sites, less than to job search sites, schools, research“. Rather curious, for a segment of the population who nevertheless cry out for the scarcity of jobs.
In a context marked by a lack of availability of this rather rare commodity. “The survey shows that, regardless of where we are in Cameroon, access remains limited, regardless of the price we pay in relation to the different price lists charged by the different operators, the internet is not also fluid. It only takes a little rain for the connection to be lost, and even, at certain times of the night, we no longer have access to the internet, “reports Paul Joël Kamtchang.
According to the report of the NGO Adisi Cameroon presented to the media, to society actors and others, only a small portion of 15.50% of Cameroonian Internet users, know the laws governing the web and web sector. media access. The ignorant portion of the related laws is 53.93%. Another data, the report informs that barely 33% of Cameroonian Internet users have training on its use, or on how to conduct an online activity. For Adisi, “91% of people use the internet via mobile phone“. The global trend is 92%. This trend can be explained by the ease of connecting via your mobile phone, rather than on a desktop computer requiring a fixed connection. The NGO also says it has learned that users complain about the poor quality of service, pay the costs, even if according to the report “there is a disparity between the different localities of the country“.
SG of lAdisi, Paul Joël Kamtchang who quotes the Invest in Cameroon website, affirms that in February 2020, the internet penetration rate in Cameroon is around 30%, thanks to the addition of 570 thousand new internet users. This makes a total of 23.62 million Cameroonians connected to the Internet via a smartphone, and 7.87 million Internet users in the country, out of a total population estimated at nearly 27 million inhabitants.
The surveys that flesh out the published report were carried out between May and June 2021. Six cities and regions were the target: Yaoundé, Douala, Bafoussam, Bamenda, Maroua and Buea. In short, the internet penetration rate is encouraging in Cameroon. Too bad young people use this potential to visit pornographic sites, rather than research, school and job search sites.